The San Miguel Beermen and the NLEX Road Warriors will kick off their respective campaign against each other high up in Antipolo. Will the Beermen take care of business at Ynares Center? Or, will the Road Warriors pull off a stunner?
Catch this game live on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.
San Miguel Beermen (0-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- Juami Tiongson
- Marcio Lassiter
- CJ Perez
- Don Trollano
- June Mar Fajardo
It’s back to work for the Beermen, who were the last team standing in the previous conference. With June Mar Fajardo leading San Miguel’s attack, the Beermen finished atop the standings in the last conference with an 8-3 record before beating the Meralco Bolts, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and TNT Tropang 5G in the playoffs to win the championship.
Fajardo will continue to be the face of the franchise for the Beermen. While he’s about to turn 36 years old in November, The Kraken surely still has it. For one, he just got crowned as the league’s Most Valuable Player for the ninth time. He’s a big problem to deal with for any team in the PBA, and NLEX surely knows all about that.
Fajardo had 13 points and 11 rebounds in San Miguel’s 98-89 win over the Road Warriors on Apr. 5. But it could be San Miguel’s backcourt that’s going to burn the Road Warriors more this Wednesday. CJ Perez and Juami Tiongson had 28 and 17 points, respectively, in the Beermen’s aforementioned victory last summer over NLEX.
NLEX Road Warriors (0-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- Robert Bolick
- Kevin Alas
- Javee Mocon
- Anthony Semerad
- Michael Miranda
The Road Warriors are out to prove that they can have the same success they had in the last conference — and more. Led by high-scoring guard Robert Bolick, the Road Warriors finished second in the standings with an 8-3 record before fading in the playoffs. The lights in the postseason seemed too bright for them, as they suffered an upset series loss in the quarterfinals at the hands of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
That being said, the experience they got from that run could prove valuable for the Road Warriors, with Bolick as the center of their offense. Bolick, a PBA Season 49 Mythical Team member, averaged 20.6 points per game last conference while leading the league with 7.2 assists per outing.
With other potent weapons on the perimeter for Bolick in the likes of Xyrus Torres, Anthony Semerad and Robbie Herndon, expect him to continue attracting defenders and finding open teammates for open shots. Meanwhile, Michael Miranda can be an X-factor for NLEX. He led his team with 15 points in the last meeting with SMB.
Picks
Spread: NLEX (+8.5)
Over/Under: Over (195.5)
